Listen, I love “Riverdale” as much as the next girl. And now that we have “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” I’m sure the infatuation is just going to grow from here. But I never once thought that I’d see Cole Sprouse’s Jughead as the suave Flynn Rider or Madelaine Petsch’s icy Cheryl Blossom as sweet little Ariel (unless you count this video).
But really, I should have known that something like this would happen. Do I love it? Yes. Is it making me uncomfortable? Also yes. That’s “Riverdale” for you.
André Manguba, a young Filipino artist who has literally worked with spaghetti and sauce as a medium, has released renderings of Sprouse, Petsch, KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Vanessa Morgan and more “Riverdale” faces as various Disney characters. While Manguba’s work is pristine, and I’m loving every minute of it, it’s making my brain go all fuzzy.
Betty Cooper, as darling as she is, is not as sugary-sweet as Rapunzel. Likewise, her mother Alice is borderline psychotic -- which, if I remember correctly, is not a definitive characteristic of Belle.
Obviously, Manguba isn’t the only artist to reimagine the works of Disney. We’ve seen the princesses as celebrities; some have imagined them living in the naughts. But now, we’re merging the timeless, classic characters with the dark and twisted storyline of “Riverdale.”
Then there’s Petsch, Mendes and Reinhart as the Powerpuff Girls. This I can totally get behind.
But there is another work of Manguba’s that I 200 percent understand: He turned Noah Centineo and Lana Condor from “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which is on the path to becoming as much of a cult classic as the likes of “Pretty Woman” and “Clueless,” into his own version of Aladdin and Jasmine.
Ugh, love. Regardless of how I feel about these “Riverdale” drawings, Manguba’s work slays.